Current Affairs - National - Discussion

As per a report published in Water Resources Research, Phosphorus levels in freshwater bodies across the world are escalating and this could pose a serious threat to the ecosystem. The report outlined that globally, on account of human activities, about 1.5 teragrams of phosphorus (one teragram is equal to one billion kilograms) was dumped into the freshwater systems every year. Breaking it down by country, China contributed the most with 30%, followed by India (8%), the USA (7%) and Spain and Brazil (6% each). The researchers also assessed the phosphorus-related water pollution levels in 20 river basins across the world. In the assessment, Huang He river basin of China was found to be having highest phosphorus-related water pollution. Ganges basin (in India) ranked fourth in this list.